Lesson 7 - So THAT'S the problem!

[Enraptured]

I've been working through Lesson 7, and I think I've figured out a lot of the problem I have with worldbuilding. I've never been able to figure out why I keep wanting to write speculative fiction when I struggle so much with worldbuilding; it seems like the obvious solution would be to write things set in the here and now, but that's just never interested me as much. I've gotten a lot better at worldbuilding over the years, but it's still the hardest part of planning a story for me... and even though I'm better at it, I still don't find it fun in the same way a lot of writers do.

Going through the Lesson 7 worksheets, I noticed something. Most of the worksheets are a slog that I can't wait to be done with; I have to force myself to sit down each morning and do more. I haven't had this much trouble getting myself to do any of the other lessons, not even the endless 1B worksheets. But the 7Ab worksheets, about the philosophies behind the world and the different sets... and, to a lesser extent, the 7D worksheets about gimmicks... those are fun! More than fun – they make me understand more about why I wrote this story in the first place. Even in the places where I've screwed up, my mind is buzzing with inspiration for possible fixes. There's a HUGE disparity between how I feel about the 7Ab and 7D worksheets and the way I feel about all the other Lesson 7 worksheets.

That's the issue, then. The physical parts, the wallpaper and blinkies and props and so on, have always been necessary evils for me. In this novel, as in most of my others, I put in bits of description just for the sake of having some description in there; it's very sparse and doesn't have any significance to the story. (Part of it is probably that I have a hard time visualizing things in any kind of detail, so I always have to fake it to a certain extent when I'm writing.) But the way the world works, and why the world works that way... that stuff fascinates me. That's what makes me want to write the story in the first place.

So I think what I need to do is make all the physical elements of the setting relate to the setting's gimmicks and philosophies. Which I probably should have realized before now.

I'm not entirely sure yet how I'm going to do that... but now that I know where the problem is, I feel a lot less discouraged about the worldbuilding process in general.

[Kate]

Intriguing analysis . . . and big breakthrough!

[jollygreen23]

Congrats on the breakthrough! (Sounds like something to go on your sweet spot map.)
I too struggle with background and description. Let us know if you find a more bareable way to get good wallpaper and blinkies!

[prudencewombat]

That sounds a real breakthrough, Enraptured! Congratulations
As you say, once you know what the problem is, you can work at doing something about it.

Sounds good...and it's good to know you're still around, working at the course.

[Texanne]

That's the issue, then. The physical parts, the wallpaper and blinkies and props and so on, have always been necessary evils for me. In this novel, as in most of my others, I put in bits of description just for the sake of having some description in there; it's very sparse and doesn't have any significance to the story. (Part of it is probably that I have a hard time visualizing things in any kind of detail, so I always have to fake it to a certain extent when I'm writing.) But the way the world works, and why the world works that way... that stuff fascinates me. That's what makes me want to write the story in the first place.

So I think what I need to do is make all the physical elements of the setting relate to the setting's gimmicks and philosophies. Which I probably should have realized before now.

I'm not entirely sure yet how I'm going to do that... but now that I know where the problem is, I feel a lot less discouraged about the worldbuilding process in general.

That really is a breakthrough, Enraptured. The world is part of the story. It affects and is affected by the story and the characters, and it also carries plenty of theme. Yay! TX

[Holly-Think]

<snipped>
So I think what I need to do is make all the physical elements of the setting relate to the setting's gimmicks and philosophies. Which I probably should have realized before now.

I'm not entirely sure yet how I'm going to do that... but now that I know where the problem is, I feel a lot less discouraged about the worldbuilding process in general.

And in that two paragraphs, you've discovered a huge secret about who you are as a writer. Congrats.

[lisavark]

Enraptured, thank you so much for posting this! You and I are exactly the same in this way. I always loved worldbuilding, though, but for me, worldbuilding was always solely about building gimmicks and philosophies--and my writing, like my worldbuilding, is very, very spare in the wallpaper/blinkies department. I hadn't realized, though, the connection that you just made. But it tells me the question I need to ask: What does this gimmick or philosophy imply about the world? If this gimmick or philosophy is true, then what also has to be true about the world? I don't know the answers to these questions yet...but I think my Muse might. She's starting to give me some hints already, and I really, really like it.

Yay! Onward!